newlitinquirychoice

Incorporating New Literacies into the K-6 Curriculum Through Inquiry and Choice

WONDERING

• Setting Google settings for "Safe Search"
  • Go to Google and click on More in the top menu bar.
  • Then select "Reader" from the pull down "More" menu.
  • Click on the "Privacy Policy" link at the bottom of the page.
  • Click on "Google Family Safety Center" in the middle of the page.
  • Click on "Learn about safety tools".
  • Learn how to set your "search settings" to Safe Search and to "lock" safe search into Google.
    
    
  • Here's another great website that I know about how to use....google
• Making Space and Time for Wondering
  • Inquiry Buddies: Tips for pairing first graders (who ask the questions) with fourth graders (who answer them)!
  • Mystery Foods: National Geographic
  • Ugly Bug Contest (and followup with books about those bugs)
  • Mystery Bugs: Novice and Expert (with followup information) from University of Kentucky Entymology
  • Nanoworld Image Gallery
  • Junior Master Gardener: Images in Nature
  • Jigzone: Solve or make your own!
  • Name That Food Flickr Group (ideas to create your own with Flickr)
  • Look at the Inquiry Opportunities awaiting: Praying Mantis (Image > Kids Click Search Results > Praying Mantid Caresheet (What's an Entomologist anyway?) > Google Images > Google Videos > Entomology for Kids ...
  • Animal Diversity Web from University of Michigan (photos, specimens, and sounds)
  • Making text more accessible with text-to-speech tools like Natural Reader 10.0 for Windows or Readability Toolbar
    
    
• Generating Open Ended Questions with Internet Inquiry Baskets and Whole-Group Internet Projects**
  • What Do Cherry Blossom Trees Look Like? see example:
    

    Internet Inquiry Baskets.pdf
    

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  • Why did Alexander Want to Move to Australia? (Kindergarten, 2000)
• Generating Deep Questions with the Question Matrix
  • Question Matrix - Resources to explore
  • SmartBoard template to actively engage students

EXPLORING

• Connecting With Experts:
  • Using Voicethread to ask questions
  • Skype An Expert like these elementary students did
  • Skype An Author (amazing!)
• Locating: Using search engines and reading search engine results
• Learning: Using Internet Workshop to determine key ideas, evaluate sources, and consider online reading strategies - read more at Leu, 2002 Internet Workshop: Making Time for Literacy
• Read what other schools are doing to explore the Internet and digital tools with TryCuriosity.com (Information Literacy for Young Digital Citizens)

RESPONDING

• Sharing with an audience for a real purpose
• Foundational components of Digital Writing Workshop (Troy Hicks, 2009) include choice & inquiry*, conferring*, author craft, publishing*, and assessment
• To explore some online tools and resources for getting started with your Digital Writing Workshops, click here.
• Several ideas about responding from a teacher's blog, Teaching in the 21st Century.

MATTERING

• Making it personal and authentic through Internet Projects (authentic audiences, new friends, classroom connections)
• Small Voices Podcast: Sports Braves Talk Show Grade 3 or
• Classroom Connections and Models
  • Kindergarten-Grade 1: Jack Fontanella (Alaska) Note weekly newsletters like Week 25)
  • Grade 1-2: Marci McGowan (New Jersey)
  • Grade 4: Mary Kreul (Wisconsin)
  • Grade 5: Mr. Romer’s 5th Grade Polar Bears
  • Susan Silverman (New York) - Explore the "Student Showcase" for any project to how students MATTER
• Specific student-created projects that represent a purpose for learning and opportunities to make a difference in their own worlds
  • Mathtrain.TV: Kids teaching kids using math videos they create, from Lincoln Middle School in Santa Monica, California
  • The Students' History: A digital history textbook created by students, for students
  • Radio WillowWeb: Audio Podcasts from Elementary Students, By Kids, For Kids
  • Children's Encyclopedia of Women, created by Third and Fourth Graders at Pocantico Hills Elementary School
  • Exploravision Winners: Innovative projects for the future from today's young minds - winners from clusters in Grades 10-12, Grades 7-9, Grades 4-6, and Grades K-3
  • Various examples on The Langwitches Blog
  • Even teachers are joining in with CK-12.Org Flexbooks
• Epals Global Community: Projects and Partners Galore!
• Global Virtual Classroom: Annual competitions

How are students using online tools in ways that matter? Post your ideas at this Wallwisher board (for Group A) to share with others. (Group B - Use this Wallwisher).

If you're ready to start your own inquiries with your students, some starting places:

• Edublogs Classroom Blog Challenge
• Wonderopolis: Explore over 590 days of different wonders!
• Science A-Z leveled texts with multimedia anchor videos (e.g., K-2: Animal Parts; Grades 3-4: Sound; Grades 5-6: States of Water
• Quadblogging - see a short summary about the concept of quadblogging
• SideVibe: Create your own inquiry tasks and discussion prompts and embed them into side by side online learning environments
• MysterySkype: Check out how these fourth graders exchanged 10 clues from their own state with another class using Skype - and then used the Internet to help decide which state each class was in.
• Web 2.0 Middle School Collaborative Project Tools: Use tools such as Cacoo (online diagramming); Weebly for Education (website designer); PhotoStory 3 (for persuasive advertising and book trailers); FotoFlexr (for editing photos in a media literacy lesson);
• Youth Learn: Technology, media & project-based learning to inspire young minds (From Education Development Center)